ROXJAYA WARRIORS by Dina Rosdiana

Why taper at all

Training makes you tired and fit at the same time. A taper lets the tiredness fall away faster than the fitness does — it's the only two weeks of the block where the graph goes your way without you doing anything. Done right, athletes typically find two to four percent on race day. On a 1:20 race that's the difference between 80 minutes and 77.

The mistakes are always the same: cramming a last big session because you're nervous, stopping everything and feeling like a sofa, or "just testing" a full race simulation on the Tuesday. None of them makes you faster.

Dina's cue

"The training is in the bank. Race week is when you stop making deposits and start spending."

Two weeks out

Your last hard week is the one that ends 14 days before the race. From then on, cut the volume by about a third and keep every session's intensity exactly as it was.

• RunsSame paces, shorter. A 10 km easy run becomes 7 km; interval sessions keep the pace and drop a third of the reps.
• StrengthOne session, normal working weights, half the sets. This is the last time you lift anything close to heavy.
• StationsOne run–station–run session at race pace, about half a race long. Your last real rehearsal — practise your Roxzone routine, your gel timing and your transitions.
• RestTwo full days off, not "active recovery" that turns into a workout.

You will feel heavy and slightly anxious towards the end of this week. That's the plan working, not failing.

Race week

Volume drops to a half or less of a normal week. Everything is short. The aim is to feel a little under-done by Thursday.

• MonOff, or 20 minutes easy jog + mobility.
• TueThe sharpener: 4–6 × 1 km at race pace with a station touch between each (10 wall balls, a 25 m sled, 5 burpee broad jumps). Under 40 minutes total. This is the last quality work of the block.
• WedLight strength: 2 sets of your main lifts at working weight, no grinding. Last session on the sled.
• ThuOff. Pack. Sleep.
• Fri20 minutes easy jog with 4 × 20-second pickups at race pace. Legs should feel like they want more — good.
• SatTravel or rest. 10–15 minutes walk, a few air squats, nothing else. Kit laid out. Early dinner (Fuel Zone: the night before).
• SunRace. Warm up 15–20 minutes: easy jog, dynamic mobility, 3 × 20-second efforts to race pace, a few air squats and a light sled touch if the venue allows.

Racing on a Saturday? Slide the week back a day and take Tuesday off instead of Monday.

What to keep sharp

Tapering cuts how much, never how fast. A few things you keep touching right up to the last three days, because they fade fastest:

• Race-pace running. Short pickups in every run. Your legs need to remember the pace you're going to hold on run one.
• The wall-ball pattern. 10–15 reps at race weight on Tuesday and Wednesday — depth to the line first time. Not sets of 30.
• Your transitions. Rehearse the Roxzone walk: run in, find the lane, strap the rower, unstrap, run out. This is time nobody trains and everybody loses.
• Grip. One set of dead hangs or a farmers carry mid-week. Grip drops off fast when you stop lifting.

What to drop completely: heavy sled work, long runs, anything that leaves you sore the next day, and any new movement, shoe, gel or kit. If you didn't test it three weeks ago, it isn't in the race.

Dina's cue

"Sharp, not sore." If you're stiff walking downstairs on Thursday, you did too much.

Sleep and travel

The night before the race you probably won't sleep well — that's normal and it barely matters. The nights that matter are Tuesday to Friday. Bank them.

• Same bedtime all week, an hour earlier than usual if you can. Screens off 30 minutes before. Early heat? Start shifting your alarm earlier from Wednesday so 4 a.m. on Sunday isn't a shock.
• Travel two nights before, not one. Bangkok, Singapore, KL: fly Friday, race Sunday. Flight day is dehydrating and your legs stiffen — give them a full day to recover.
• On the plane: aisle seat, walk every hour, electrolyte drink not coffee, compression socks if you have them.
• Go to the venue on Saturday. Collect your bib, walk the Roxzone, look at the sled carpet and the run route, count your steps to the lanes. Then leave — don't stand around for three hours in a cold hall.
• Heat: Jakarta athletes racing in cooler venues often go out too fast because it feels easy. Hold your planned run-one pace anyway (Run Zone: pacing).

Race-week checklist

Laid out on the table by Saturday night:

• Race shoes (the tested pair), heel-lock laced, plus socks
• Race belt for your bib — no pins
• Liquid chalk; tape for ring fingers if you use it
• Gel(s) you've trained with, electrolyte powder, pickle juice or mustard sachet (Fuel Zone: cramps)
• Race-morning breakfast — packed, not bought on the day
• Watch charged; run-one pace written on your hand or wristband
• Warm layer for the wait and a dry top for afterwards
• Your split targets — then bring the real splits to the Split analyser after the race

Doubles? Agree the station split with your partner on Friday, not in the start pen.